In Other News… | The Survival Gardener

Let’s cover a few interesting items from this week.

Pickling/Fermenting

David comments on my article about vinegar pickling vs. traditional fermenting:

“A friend who grew up on his family farm said his grandmother made sauerkraut the old way, in a wooden barrel. He said that as a little boy his job was to stomp the barrel down with his bare feet as his uncles shredded cabbage, his mom added salt and grandmother tasted it to make sure the concentration was right.

Half way through one year, he says he heard his uncle ask, “Has this boy washed his feet?”

I make quart jar sauerkraut every Fall, and my wife makes Kimchi throughout the year. The bottom shelf of the fridge is dedicated to the quart jars of kraut. I have had good luck with the salt drawing enough brine out of the shredded cabbage, but you need to let it sit out a while to sweat out the brine.”

It always took forever to draw the brine out of the cabbage when we did it, and it was never enough.

John comments:

“Really enjoyed this method. I hate having to smash up cabbage for what feels like hours just to force enough liquid out of it. I should have just trusted my instinct and used a salt water brine like this. BTW, ginger and carrot adds a unique flavor to the kraut as well. Try it some time if you haven’t but not too much. I just shred one medium/small carrot and about a 2inch piece of ginger.”

Ginger sounds good to me!

Rosehaven writes:

“Rachel’s fermented pickle recipe filmed in the tropical kitchen is my go-to recipe.

We liked those picks so much we purchased a crick, and make cabbage in it. We really enjoy it. Thank you, Rachel and David.”

You are very welcome! I actually have a Chinese cabbage in the fridge right now that needs to be put into some homemade kimchi.

An Update from the Dairy

Rachel found a beautiful little gift in the field earlier this week:

This time we got a little heifer! What a blessing! Rachel has named her Princess.

Rachel milked out the mom (Sweetie-Pie) yesterday morning and got over two gallons of colostrum from her, some of which we’re freezing to save for the future.

The cows are doing great so far and are very easy to manage. Of all the animals we’ve raised, these Dexters are probably the best and most productive.

Flannel Farms

My brother went in for a heart catheterization this morning as they inspect what appears to be a broken valve. He came through it okay, but we are concerned. Pray for his complete healing and that this problem can be resolved – or simply taken away through a miracle.

Speaking of my brother, he posted a very entertaining video earlier this week. If you haven’t seen it yet, I think you’ll like it:

In Other Other News

Our washing machine has been broken for two weeks, so we’re headed off to the laundromat with a ton of laundry this afternoon.

We’re also under contract on a new homestead and praying that goes through. Life doesn’t stop, but God is with us in what we do.

I have been listening to this song a lot lately:

Have a great weekend.

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